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Comment by itsmemattchung | Hacker News Reader

My entire perspective on "writer's block" shifted after surreptitiously stumbling on Jerry Weinberg's book "The fieldstone method". I very rarely now start with a blank page and very rarely beat myself up for "writer's block".

In a nutshell, the book describes how the act of writing can be broken down into many stages: sometimes you are collecting "fieldstones" (i.e. research), sometimes you editing, and sometimes you are synthesizing. Regardless, there's always something to do that moves you forward.

* Field stone method - https://geraldmweinberg.com/Site/On_Writing.html

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For me, the major problem that the fieldstone method solves is that inspiration is lumpy. The inspiration faucet often doesn't just turn on when you need it to.

By collecting fieldstones (little ideas) and polishing/rewriting over time whenever one feels strongly about a particular subject, one is able to draw on an existing collection of partially-written drafts on diverse topics that can be deployed quickly. Or combine several similar ideas and deploy a more polished/comprehensive treatment of a subject than would be possible with an on-the-spot piece.

It also accounts for the fact that our interests shift. I don't know about others but I often get into phases where I become intensely interested in a subject, research it to heck until the interest peters out. I was once really interested in the topic of alleviating loneliness because I was profoundly affected by it. I'd written many fieldstones on the topic, and contemplated it a lot. If I were given a task to write about loneliness right now, I'd probably struggle because I'm no longer as intimate with (nor as interested in) the subject as I once was, but with fieldstones I can draw on all the (partial) analyses I'd done when I was in that phase.

The fieldstone method is more than just about taking notes -- it's about brewing them over time based on one's feelings.

I don't disagree. But I'd offer the caveat that research (or "research") can end up being a very power form of procrastination--all the more so because it's ostensibly connected to your eventual goal.

But, as I say, I agree in general and it's one reason I like to start out in Scrivener for biggest projects. It lets me pull in research and start working on some bite-sized chunks related to that research (or other material) rather than trying to craft some grand narrative starting from a blank sheet. (The narrative hook can be the hardest thing to come up with so it may very well not be what you want to start with. (You'll probably throw it out anyway.)

Gerald Weinberg keeps popping up in a lot of recommended reading lists. Currently reading "Are your lights on?" and "Secrets of Consulting". He seems to be a prolific author, and seemingly unknown. By cover art on his books, I assume he self-publishes his books.

I wouldn't describe Gerald Weinberg as "seemingly unknown". He wrote "The Psychology of Computer Programming" which I believe was very influential in its day (it was published in 1985).

Alot of his books were published by Dorset in the 80s. He passed away in 2018. So I'm assuming this is his estate and family re-releasing the books. I'm not sure if the Indie covers are an intentional branding approach or an indication that it's the efforts of one family member.

Absolutely fantastic books by they way.I still recommend Secrets of Consulting to every CS graduate I meet.

This is a really good point and thank you for the link.

I find that I have more stress from concern about whether the writing really is moving forward even when I'm putting words on the page - i.e. will the words I'm writing 'work' - than from writers block. Always at the back of my mind is will these words make the work less cohesive - am I moving backwards?

But in general we manage what we measure and we normally have a word count but no easy way to measure whether a work is really coming together.

I do "versioning" of pieces sometimes when I'm concerned about that. I get to a particular point, decide I like some of what I've said "but it could be better" and copy and paste the entire thing into a new document and edit that, leaving the old version intact just in case I ultimately decide "God, what shite! What on earth was I even thinking???"

That's a really good idea - I use version control when writing code but it's never occurred to me to version when I'm writing English!

Nice idea! I will try to do something similar!

For this, git was made. Although, its for coders mainly, I don't see why writers can't use it.

Many do, it pairs nicely with text-based document processing systems like LaTeX.

Almost too minor to bring up, but my brain won't let go. In your first sentence, was "surreptitiously stumbling upon" the book meant to happen "serendipitously" instead?

I picked up this book based on your recommendation. Thank you! It's so great.

This.

If you're feeling a block, then first work around the work, eventually you'll be working ON the work.

Unfortunately this book doesnt seem tonbe available anywhere anymore, is it?

Ten dollars on the Kindle store, or buy it used.

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